The seeming incongruity of those items appearing on the Sears website was first reported by The Wall Street Journal, which called it “one of the most counterintuitive strategies in retail today.” But it said that “luxury vendors said Sears representatives have stressed in meetings that the company was trying to revamp its image and become more hip.”

“Our broader message is that we have added 85 million items to the Marketplace,” says Sears spokesman Brian Hanover. “Certainly higher-end items are among those, including jewelry and designer items.”

Hanover wouldn’t specify how sales of these high-end items have fared compared to others, but says, “We have been very happy with the performance of Marketplace so far. We are very pleased with the growth to 85 million items in just three years.”

Most collectors of these items seem skeptical; wrote one on a watch forum: “I know Sears wants to do this to improve their image but this screams gimmick and risk to me.”